Teary goodbye for Palmer

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- His shins had been hurting all week, and Friday's round, his last ever in the Masters Tournament, was no different for Arnold Palmer.

He tried some medicine, and it seemed to help a little. But still, the pain pestered him every time he took a step.

Around No. 15, the discomfort vanished.

"My shins were killing me," Palmer said. "About the 15th hole, it went away. Now there's no pain at all."

He didn't say it, but perhaps he implied it. Arnie's Army, which followed him from hole-to-hole, was the faith healer. His supporters for the last 50 Masters were the ones to make the pain go away.

Applause washed over him all day, but it was especially potent as Palmer walked up the 18th fairway.

He reminisced about his four Masters victories, and he also remembered the tournament championships he had lost.

He thought about his children and grandchildren, all of whom were in attendance for Friday's round. He smiled and winked at the fans who applauded as though they didn't ever want to let him go.

As he walked to his ball behind the front bunker on No. 18, the gallery -- as deep and appreciative as any Masters Sunday gathering -- stood and applauded for a minute, 27 seconds. He doffed his cap nine times. After he chipped it to within 4 feet, they stood and cheered for 1:03 more.

A bogey on that hole left him at 24-over-par for the tournament, but that's not what the 74-year-old legend will remember.

Smith, the amateur whose hometown is 80 miles northeast of Palmer's, could have made the cut of 4-over-par by parring the 18th. But after he and Bob Estes allowed Palmer to stroll up 18 by himself - a courtesy that should be extended to every legend - he double-bogeyed the hole and, just like Palmer, he won't be around for today's third round.

"It was pretty overwhelming," Smith said. "All day coming up to the tees and the greens, it was unbelievable. I was trying to stay back and let him enjoy it. On 18, it all finally caught up with me."

It caught up with Palmer too.

"Emotion? A lot," he said. "Sometimes, I get tired and emotions overrule. I'm not upset about that. It's a part of me."

Just like he has become a part of the Augusta National Golf Club and this tournament. Even old-timers like Raymond Floyd, playing in his 40th Masters, appreciate what Palmer has done, appreciates how he affects the fans.

"It's something that's very sentimental to me," Floyd said. "He's meant so much to this game, this tournament and to all others. It's tough to see him go, but we'll all be thinking about him."

He might not be gone quite yet. Although he emphasized many times this week that he'll not play another Masters, he's hinted that he might like to become the tournament's next honorary starter. He's still determined to play an active role at the tournament he helped construct.

Arnie's Army, though, has lost its leader. And that pain isn't likely to go away.

"I can never tell you how important the fans have been to me, and this connection for 50 years," Palmer said. "It's been fantastic."